skudiklier's reviews
602 reviews

A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This one might actually be my favorite Reluctant Royals book so far? I really appreciated the epilogue, as the endings of the first two felt a little abrupt. I also looooved the nonbinary representation, it nearly made me tear up :') 
The Stranger by Albert Camus

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dark reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

It took me about half the book to really get into it, but I ended up liking it. He's extremely autistic and relatable in some ways, though I also didn't find him very likable, but of course that's not the point. I liked where the book ended and the conclusion it came to, even if it was a frustrating and depressing read in many ways. 
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Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This might sound weird, but this book was exactly the right amount of devastating. I probably should have expected some pain from the title, but I didn't expect how *real* this book would feel. It was sad, and there were some dramatic revelations of course, but it felt so--I don't know how to put it. Reasonable? It felt like real people making real decisions in a really tough, complicated situation that can easily be seen from very different perspectives.

I would definitely recommend Only Love Can Hurt Like This to fans of romance, drama, contemporary fiction, and character-focused stories. I loved this book and definitely want to read more of Toon's work now. Thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the chance to read and review this ARC. 
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The One by Julia Argy

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Overall, I really liked this book. The writing reminded me of Curtis Sittenfeld in the best way, and I was so sucked into the book that I read nearly the whole thing in one day.

The only thing I didn't like was the ending--it didn't really feel like an HEA and wasn't satisfying for me. I'll put more details below but beware for some spoilers about the ending.

Okay so I'm fine with ambiguous endings, or endings where they haven't figured everything out yet. But they didn't even see each other? The last time we saw Sam she was still at The One being sent home and upset. I want just even a *sentence* of them being together at the end, not Emily just asleep in her car. That's not the happy ending you sign up for with a romance. I can fill in the blanks, sure, but I need a *crumb* first. I just keep thinking about how unsatisfying that ending was and how after all that buildup I really needed *something* there at the end to make it worth it. Super frustrating because if there was literally even one line (like, she gets to Sam and Sam looks remotely happy to see her, even if it ends right then with neither of them saying anything), I would be raving about how much I love this book. And instead most of my review is about my one problem with it.
 

Okay. That out of my system, I really did love this book besides for that one thing about it. I'd recommend it to romance fans for sure, and I look forward to reading more of Argy's work in the future. Thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the chance to read and review this ARC. 
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A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I liked this about as much as the first book in the series, but in slightly different ways! I like that Cole addresses some of the unhealthy relationship dynamics that most romances would just ignore because it would make things too complicated; I was ready to sort of suspend my disbelief/concerns as I normally would, and then they were directly addressed. My biggest problem with this series is that they end sort of suddenly. I wish there was an epilogue or something, though at least I know I'll probably get a glimpse of their relationship in the sequel(s). 
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Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I don't read a lot of YA anymore, and I was a little worried I'd be bored by this, but I actually really liked it! It's not perfect, and it starts out a little slow/clichéd for me, but I just read the last 80% of the book all in one day, so I definitely found it engaging. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to older readers but it's a great coming-of-age book for queer teenagers. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this ARC. 
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French Holiday by Sarah Ready

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Overall I didn't like this book--I feel bad but I just thought the writing was awful and the whole thing felt like a cartoon/sitcom where no one acted like a real person would. I did care a bit about the relationship and I like enemies to lovers so I stuck it out even though I wanted to DNF a few minutes in. And it's not the worst thing ever or anything, I don't hate it. I just didn't enjoy it and wouldn't recommend it. There was also ableist language right in the beginning of the book, which like, it wasn't a big issue in the rest of it, but still it started off on a bad foot. And the main character just jumped to ridiculous conclusions all the time and did not act reasonably at all. The writing just felt bad and lazy. 

The narrator however was good, and it wasn't *not* entertaining in some ways. Thanks to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC. 
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Dear Prudence: Liberating Lessons from Slate.com's Beloved Advice Column by Daniel M. Lavery

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reflective medium-paced

5.0

I both enjoyed this, and found it helpful! I was excited to read this because I enjoy Lavery's work in general, and have followed him online for years, but I've only ever actually listened to Dear Prudence once or twice, and that's not where I know him from at all. Throughout this book I was very impressed with how consistently he cut to the heart of an issue--I would finish reading a letter, think it seemed hopelessly complicated or fraught, and then have things completely turned around by Lavery's reframing of the questions the letter-writer needed to ask themself. 

The only odd thing is that the book just sort of ends--there's no conclusion at all, so it felt very abrupt. But aside from that I have no problems with this book. I would definitely recommend it. 

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperOne for the chance to read and review this ARC. 
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Embarrassing Scenes Reviewed: A Collection of Nerdfighters' Most Cringey High School Stories by

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

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A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I couldn't put this down! I saw one or two of the twists coming (at least a little), and not having the HEA until the very last second was a little weird. It felt like it could use an epilogue to really get closure instead of feeling rushed. But overall I loved it and I'll definitely be reading the next one in the series ASAP. The audiobook narrator was great as well! 
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